PM, CM in title clash

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijay Singh are playing the blame game over the settlement of tribal …

Madhya Pradesh sets JFM precedent

Two recent developments augur well for the forest dwellers of Madhya Pradesh. Firstly, under the Joint Forest Management plan, forest protection …

Forests march

A walkathon through 5 states traverses through a rich crop of traditional conservation methods -- and a thicket of disputes

21 villages inside Simlipal Tiger Reserve granted community forest rights

Exercising the rights however, might prove to be a challenge

Rejection of forest rights claims, poor coverage and missing data; all happening in Odisha

CAG audit makes scathing criticism about the failure of local authorities in creating awareness on FRA provisions amongst forest dwellers

Uneasy truce

Stand-off ends between forest officials and villagers in Ranthambhore, but roots of the conflict remain

Unsettling

The reality of resettlement in Orissa

Pay and chop

Let them co-exist

Engage forest dwellers in managing wildlife: Tiger Task Force

'Village forests have been pitted against community rights'

The proposed amendment of IFA is an attempt to keep power in the hands of the forest bureaucracy by playing up village forests against community …

Tribal affairs ministry’s report on FRA riddled with discrepancies

Area of forest land recognised reduced, more titles distributed than approved

Heading Downhill

Thailand policymakers' volte-face on community forestry bill jolts devolution process

Creating history in a hurry

Tiger balm

Forest governance 2.0

Forest dwelling communities have created a new economy courtesy a decade of the Forest Rights Act. Will the bureaucracy support the empowered …

Caught in the crossfire in Nepal

The Bankariyas, a forest-dweller community of central Nepal, have been uprooted from their traditional habitat and are living like refugees in …

FRA helps Dhenkanal tribals gain land rights

Their ancestors were brought in as workers nearly a century ago by the former princely state

Time to act

The Madhya Pradesh government has recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking changes in the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The …

Whither freedom?

Post independence, governments expanded squeezing village republics out of existence

THE FOUNTAINHEAD DONGRIPARA, DHAMTARI DISTRICT, CHATTISGARH

Spark came from non-recognition as a village • Integrated management of forest and water • Sees self-governance as a matter of …

THE SECOND INDEPENDENCE

Tiny forgotten villages teach India a firsthand lesson in governance. Down To Earth reporters and photographers fan out to six states to discover …

A memo to the government

To be a truly participatory republic, India must take tutorials from these tiny republics

In Birsa's Land: Horomocho (Hazaribagh, Jharkhand)

A coal mine to own and manage • Sustainability not profit as a principle • Revival of an ancient Santhal system of governance

Unshakable: Nimalapedu (Vishakapatnam, Andhra Pradesh)

Reminded India of its constitutional mandate for village autonomy • Fought bauxite companies for not getting gram sabha consent • Has …

A Republican Paradise: Mendha (Gadchirolli, Maharashtra)

Defied the Forest Act ÔÇó Every resident contributes part of annual income for community works ÔÇó If somebody bribes a …